KONY 2012

[ilovetoskim]

Just watch this, it may be long but it's well worth it.

[Chrith]

this could all be completely wrong but didnt the US enter Uganda some time after oil reserves were found in uganda

[ankskim]

i think they're more pressing matters at the moment that people should really be worried about.

[Chev]

Omg Facebook!

[ankskim]

all the girls are crying over this because of how moved they now all feel. SOMB should make a video about the $5 gas price in our near future and we shall see how touched everybody is

[TDOGG]

He's got my vote.

[Shea Benton]

Can someone summarize the 30 minutes for me? I got bored after 3. From the posts clogging up my newsfeed it looks like this is a well filmed propaganda film for aid to Africa? Someone start an argument so I can figure this out without watching it.

[Socraticskim]

Kony has been raping and abducting children. Essentially it's trying to take the hype from OWS and the feel of "Changing the World" by making Kony famous. This is because Kony has been under the radar for so long, and by making him well known it will start a domino effect that will eventually lead to his arrest. In the video it showed various interviews with congressmen and actors that are endorsing this movement.

[ankskim]

Kony has been raping and abducting children. Essentially it's trying to take the hype from OWS and the feel of "Changing the World" by making Kony famous. This is because Kony has been under the radar for so long, and by making him well known it will start a domino effect that will eventually lead to his arrest. In the video it showed various interviews with congressmen and actors that are endorsing this movement.

well when you say it like that it sounds kinda bad

[Shea Benton]

just did some reading...

shocking, religion resulting in the deaths of innocent people...

[Socraticskim]

Of course it's bad, but i mean the whole thing seems fruitless. Another fairly liberal movement that will fail, imo. It's a noble cause and they have made great progress with spreading the awareness. He does need to be stopped, but it's not high on our priority list at the moment. What is? Well, i don't know. I've become apathetic when it comes to politics, in all honesty.

[Shea Benton]

from wiki: In October 2011, Obama authorized the deployment of approximately 100 combat-equipped U.S. troops to central Africa.[18] They will help regional forces “remove from the battlefield” Joseph Kony and senior LRA leaders. "Although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces, and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense," Obama said in a letter to Congress.

[Shea Benton]

seems like spreading awareness isn't necessary. this guy has been on the US govt.'s radar for years. he's essentially just another terrorist in hiding evading capture.

[Socraticskim]

In the video it talked about how making him (kony) famous will keep the troops over there to assist them in finding Kony. So, that's what all the hype is about. Just spreading the message and trying to become part of a movement for the greater good.

[ankskim]

is vandalism really necessary to inform people?

[samcollett]

The people making these videos are the same ones who've always bitched about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We shouldn't be world police...unless it's to hunt down Kony.

[huffy]

is vandalism really necessary to inform people?

That part got me. It was all good till be told thousands of people to vandalize their cities.
Another thing that pissed me off is that hardly anyone who shared it on Facebook is gonna actually buy posters and spread them out. There's more to it than sharing the video. Yeah shaeing helps but donating and buying the kit on top of sharing the vid helps more.

[ankskim]

how about actually contacting your state representatives? that seems like a good idea...yeah?

[Shea Benton]

The people making these videos are the same ones who've always bitched about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We shouldn't be world police...unless it's to hunt down Kony.

truth.

sidenote, did the guy making the video come across as really gay to anyone else?

[samcollett]

Yeah. My friend Johannes is one of the top 5 higher-ups at Invisible Children. He's been with them for years. I've actually met the chick with dark curly hair and glasses in that video. When we were in high school, he started out with seemingly noble enough ideas, but now it just seems like he and his IC friends more concerned with manipulating others (mostly younger) into believing what they believe. That's where they lose me. I don't need some completely leftist, shortsighted movement to make me aware that there are shitty people in the world doing shitty things to others. That's not going away any time soon. For every Kony that's killed or caught, two more will pop up.

The idea is great. Fight for the greater good. That being said, they really go about it the wrong way (to me).

edit: Jo is actually in that video. Just saw it on his facebook. I just don't feel like sitting through the entire thing to figure out at which point he makes a cameo hah.

[can-can]

I'm actually kind of shocked at you guys' reactions to this one.

I first heard about Kony and the invisible children thing a couple years ago something like 'they hop young children up on cocaine, give them guns, and just send them to do horrific things'.

Saying that the people who support this arrest are the same ones as those who didn't think the Iraq/afghanistan war was justified is not a valid argument. First off, a claim of hypocrisy doesn't detract in any way from the reasons for arresting/killing kony. Second, the LRA is expanding, they don't 'recruit' in the same way that they do in the middle east, they destroy villages and force children to join them. They aren't fueled by hatred, ignorance, or religion in the way the middle east is, they are fueled by fear, and the villages they attack are absolutely defenseless. (for the record i supported sending troops to afghanistan purely to take out bin laden, but not iraq)

Killing one man may or may not make a difference, it could lead to a collapse of the organization, or a power vacuum to be filled by the next in line. I know this and it is a delicate situation that needs to be thought out by people much more in the know than us, so i'd like to leave that part out of the argument as it would all be speculation.

Somebody said they were apathetic to politics, I'll get to that in a second. First off, invisible children has been around long before ows, which i agree was a stupid protest because who gives a shit about people camping out for a cause that wasn't clearly defined. Here is what I think makes this 'liberal' movement different, and takes the cause away from politics. It is has a clear goal, is for a phenomenal cause (no child should have to shoot their parents or what their brother murdered), is trendy, and takes power away from 'politics' and gives it to humanity.

Clear goal: provide technological and military support to those trying to eliminate Kony (though for obama this might mean a ten man team that takes the fracker out in style)

Phenomenal cause: I'd like to think I would try and stop hitler if I lived a couple decades ago, this is on less of a scale as far as numbers go but I consider it just as horrific.

Is trendy: like somebody said earlier, all the girls are xxx~*like dis if u cry evry time...*~xxx about it. Its a hard video to watch (though i think they should have gone for more shock factor, it was a lot weaker than it could have been, give the blonde kid half the lines). Guys can care about it too because its not some occupy movement where you just look poor and retarded. Trendy is everything these days now. And when things are trendy at our level, support creeps up through twitter and television. Jon Stewart dedicated a whole show to the bill that was about to pass where 9/11 firefighters/police officers would lose govt support for medical bills directly related to dust inhalation on 9/11, and the next day the bill didn't pass. The point of raising awareness is not for the govt it is for raising awareness in the population.

tldr; read this paragraph
This leads into what I mean by it takes power away from politics and puts it into the hands of humanity. Politics unfortunately (in some ways fortunately because people can be retarded) aren't based on popular opinion, or doing what is for the greater good. But now, people have the power to create massive support for causes via social networking. Looking back at all the past travesties, it is incredible to think of the massive power that social networking really could have had on them. What if Anne Frank tweeted her diary, romeo texted juliet, or facebook statuses pleaded that you send potatoes to the starving in Ireland? We shouldn't let our new found knowledge of the world numb us to those horrors out there, we should let it inspire us to fix them. If we are inspired enough to fix them, it is harder now for policy makers to let politics rule their actions, as they are now in the public eye more than ever. A wise organization can use this public eye to force the politicians hand, which it seems this group is trying to do by targeting twenty of them.

Somebody posted a link to maddox talking about modern movements that don't take action, and it is very true that some of these movements are stupid. However, that doesn't mean that all modern movements using similar tactics will fail, given the right circumstances social media is and will be incredibly powerful, and I foresee this particular movement being a success, and shame on anyone who hopes it isn't.

[samcollett]

I'm actually kind of shocked at you guys' reactions to this one.

Saying that the people who support this arrest are the same ones as those who didn't think the Iraq/afghanistan war was justified is not a valid argument. First off, a claim of hypocrisy doesn't detract in any way from the reasons for arresting/killing kony. Second, the LRA is expanding, they don't 'recruit' in the same way that they do in the middle east, they destroy villages and force children to join them. They aren't fueled by hatred, ignorance, or religion in the way the middle east is, they are fueled by fear, and the villages they attack are absolutely defenseless. (for the record i supported sending troops to afghanistan purely to take out bin laden, but not iraq)

It's not an argument. It's just an instance of blatant hypocrisy. Invisible Children has turned into manipulative propaganda, which is one of the main things all my IC friends bitch about to begin with. IC blasted the Bush/Obama administrations for being world police...not for getting involved in an "unjustified war." How can you blast your government for being world police, then turn around and ask them to police the world? It's not about justification. It's about hypocrisy. Hypocrisy doesn't negate the fact that Kony should be brought to justice by any means...but it certainly takes away the credibility of the IC cronies.

Yeah. What's going on over there sucks. What's going on in a lot of places sucks. This is not the first, and definitely not the last time some sociopath gains control of a large number of people. That being said, we have neither the money nor the resources to involve ourselves in yet another conflict.

[WSMassiv]

All I know about Kony is every single girl on my facebook is suddenly an activist.

Maybe I'm missing something but why is everyone suprised that some psycho in Africa is taking advantage of kids? What makes this guy so much different from the countless other warlords hopping kids up on heroin and putting AKs in their hands?

I would read can-can's post to find out but even his tl;dr is too long to read

[Chev]

Hes not much different than this guy, despite his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Butt_Naked

Blahyi has said he led his troops naked except for shoes and a gun. He believed that his nakedness was a source of protection from bullets.[8] Blahyi now claims he would regularly sacrifice a victim before battle, saying, "Usually it was a small child, someone whose fresh blood would satisfy the devil."[1] He explained to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Sometimes I would enter under the water where children were playing. I would dive under the water, grab one, carry him under and break his neck. Sometimes I'd cause accidents. Sometimes I'd just slaughter them."[9] In January 2008, Milton-Blahyi c

[carbonisyourfriend]

Wish every girl who was down with KONY2012 was down with anal

[Sterman808]

I just came on to also post this video, and i am glad to see someone has beat me to it. I completely support what they are trying to do. Hope you all take the time to understand the video entirely.

[Chev]

I didn't watch it, but i don't care because one of the good things about Canada is how far you feel from the rest of the shitty world. Also, is nobody similarily shocked by general buttnaked? hes straight fracked yo'

Also, im willing to bet most of the Kony 2012 sheeple would be more upset if they didnt get a new macbook pro than over the problems in Uganda, a country they probably learned of today. Boooo

[xenjoiii]

That was the hippest declaration of war on a single person I have ever seen.

[Chrith]

This type of shit has been happening all over the world the history of the world. but im pretty sure facebook can stop it

[WSMassiv]

My FB status is "Vote Kony 2012!"

its not popular

[Socraticskim]

I've done a fair bit of looking into it, and everything doesn't add up. Heres my findings and I have included sources. Will probably get down voted to hell but I hope to give at least one of you a better understanding of whats going on. Theres ALWAYS two sides to every story. This viral film has caught the attention of heaps of young folk but you are all far too late. Watching that Kony video is essentially watching old news. They started filming in 2003, and northern Uganda has been free of LRA violence and war for over five years. In fact, the LRA have signed a peace accord! They are rebuilding and are restoring the peace.

Yes the leader is still out there however the recruitment of children has decreased 80%. This isn't due to the Invisible Children organisation, its because Ugandan military and the ICC have intercepted. The Invisible Children group are trying to pass a bill that allows America to militarise the region... They are providing misinformation to woo idealistic followers. The group have combined multiple regional conflicts to make it appear that this is one rapidly increasing issue. When confronted about their dodgy tactics, the head spokesperson stated;

“I agree with you that leading people to believe that the war is still happening in Uganda is not ethically right. It's something we've been addressing internally, focusing on getting all staff and supporters on the same page (of communication)."

If you read the news, or even had an ounce of interest in the on-going unrest in Africa you would already know this and not be fooled. Yes, awful things happen to people in 3rd world countries but this has been occurring for centuries, it isn't a recent occurrence.

I think its only fair if I am to make such comments I provide sources (unlike the people over at Invisible Children...)

SOURCES:

Michael Kirkpatrick, a long-time Independent Global Citizen, he has resided in Uganda and other regions of Africa. He has no political, religious or financial agenda. He wrote this article and gave an in-depth insight to whats really going on. He also questioned important members of Invisible Children about their motives. [1] http://www.blackstarnews.com/news/12...010-06-02.html

Charity Navigator is a website that breaks down the proceeds and donations given to Invisible Children and subsequently shows what percentile of that is REALLY going towards these impoverished kids. A measly slither of what is going into the founders pockets. [2] http://www.charitynavigator.org/inde...ry&orgid=12429

I've read an interesting passage from Northern Ugandan man however it is not 100% verified - he has advised the Northern Ugandan parliament have listed IC as their main priority on their "fraudulent activity" list. (See 2nd comment, username Livingstone). [3] http://www.topix.com/forum/city/stua...SGHMES035Q6OI0 THIS article asking Invisible Children why they were pressuring poor AND illegal piece of legislation has since been removed and deleted. [4] http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/20...m-lisa-dougan/

ADDITIONALLY - There were members of Invisible Children were saying what their "allowance" could purchase them, it was on a forum on the official website, and this has also been REMOVED. [5] http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/?p=5901

Also: [6] http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1...anization.html

I have a few more sources if anybody is looking for a specific answer, or where I got a certain fact, please just feel free to ask.
FROM REDDIT

[WSMassiv]

Yeah I saw that on reddit too. Didn't read far enough into it yet but it seems like the Ugandan government is just as much to blame.

[Chrith]

"Invisible Children has been condemned time and time again. As a registered not-for-profit, its finances are public. Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct services, with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production. This is far from ideal, and Charity Navigator rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they haven’t had their finances externally audited. But it goes way deeper than that."

[carbonisyourfriend]

when i was in highschool everyone who wasnt a tool knew all the money wasnt going to help those kids

[GnarKill1029]

Wish every girl who was down with KONY2012 was down with anal

lol